JOE GORDON

Between Rogers Hornsby in the '20s and Ernie Banks in the '50s, few Major League middle infielders packed as much punch as Gordon. He was one of a superb group of California athletes born during the years of World War I who began great careers before World War II and who were stars in the seasons after that. Others in the lineage were Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, Joe DiMaggio, Dominic DiMaggio, Sam Chapman, Eddie Joost, and Bob Elliott.

Beginning as a rookie with the Yankees in 1938, Gordon went on to play in six World Series, five with New York and one with the Cleveland Indians. He was on the winning side on five of those occasions. In his first five seasons, Gordon averaged exactly (yes, exactly) 25 home runs and 100 RBI, wonderful power numbers for a second baseman today, but superior for 60 years ago. Somewhat overshadowed by the famed Bronx Bombers of the late '30s and early '40s - Joe DiMaggio, Dickey, Keller, Henrich, Gomez, Ruffing - his all-around excellent play was recognized in 1942 when he was elected MVP of the American League. Oddly enough, in that year, his offensive stats were down a bit from his average season, but by that tune he was also among the elite as a fielder, superb in turning the double play.

After military service during World War II, Gordon came back for his worst season in 1946. This prompted New York to pass on his future and trade him to Cleveland. For the next three seasons, he returned to the solid numbers, virtually identical to those of his early years, and highlighted by an awesome 1948: 32 HR, 124 RBI, the AL pennant and a World Series victory for the Indians.

In the '50s, Gordon became a player-manager in the Pacific Coast League, returning to the Majors as a manager for several clubs from 1958-61. Success in this area was limited, although he did pilot the Indians to second place in 1959.

If dominating a position for six or seven years and being a key in winning five World Series were basic criteria, Gordon would have merited more consideration for the Hall than he has. His lifetime 253 homers and 975 RBI are competitive with the elite keystoners, but, although he made his hits count, there were only 1,530 of them. His power matched Morgan, Sandberg, and Doerr, but he was far outrun and outscored by the first two, and the latter drove in almost 300 more runs. He could field with Herman and Gehringer, but he was 35 to 50 points behind in career batting average. Hornsby, of course, stands alone in almost all offensive stats. So Gordon comes up short in almost every category except one- winning.